Actually, it's really useful for me, and I live in California, where it's pretty much sunshine year round. It comes in handy in two ways.
I ride motorcycles, when you ride, you use gloves. Every now and then, you get an important call, or need to find your way around, so the phone gets pulled out. It's just that much nicer not having to take my gloves off.
I also snowboard, and again, gloves are often involved. Same thing, if I get a call, want to change my music, or anything beyond taking a photo. It's a lot nicer to not have to take my gloves off. It's actually a much bigger deal when I am snowboarding, than when I am riding my motorcycle.
There are also times when its cold enough here, that I wear regular gloves. They are leather, and have a layer inside, so they are not the thinnest gloves. I find that using the tip of my finger works the best. It takes a moment to get used to it, but you can get pretty accurate. I'm not positive, but I think it adapts a bit to you, so you need to give it a chance.
Also, you can always use your keys, or some other metallic object. I don't know if this is true, but I've heard you can even pick up a twig and use it. I haven't tried that.
But I have used my car/motorcycle keys as a stylus, and actually, that's kind of nice. I never hit the wrong key that way. But I've also found I can use the metal tip of my lighter too. So if you find you can't operate it with your gloves on, don't worry, you don't need to expose your hands to the cold/rain/snow, but just use your keys, or whatever is handy.